Leopold II Discusses the Belgian Congo Ca. 1900s

Unknown
- 1910

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In 1876, King Leopold II of Belgium organized an expedition to the Congo in Africa. Although Belgium had previously shown little interest in colonialism, Leopold soon authorized the use of slave labor to extract precious materials such as diamonds from the territory. By 1908, however, Leopold's exploitation of the Congolese had been exposed, and he relinquished control of the region to the Belgian government.